MLFD History
1894
Hope Fire Company
First fire department in Mays Landing. Their equipment consisted of a hand pumper, hose and buckets.
1903
March 23
Hamilton Township Committee met in various taverns and homes in the area, on this day the Township Committee met in Veals Opera House on Main Street.
March 28
Hamilton Township Committee met in Library Hall.
The Township rented Library Hall for meetings in the amount of $36 per year. This money was given to the Hope Fire Company.This same year the Township negotiated and paid the fire company $1 and accepted the deed and real estate for the property which Library Hall was located.
1907
July 1
Hope Fire Company had been disbanded.
July 3
First meeting and formation of Reliance Hose Co. No. 1. President William Weir, Vice President Charles Makepeace, Secretary Lewis C Cramer, Treasurer Harrison Wilson, Chief Emanuel C Shaner, Foreman George Kraemer, Assistant Foreman Daniel Marshalee.
Members included Dr. Charles Saulsberry, Rev. Theodore McCormick, Enoch Johnson, William M. Taylor, Dorie D Hoover, Harry Jenkins, William Ripley Sr., Roy E Beach, Arthur G Cramer, John Pratt, Martin Ingersoll, Charles E. Remmey, Elva Kendall, Albert C Abbot, Dominick Myers, Henry Stowe, James Barrett, Otto Pack, Ira Smith, Thomas W Barrett, Winfield Estelow and William McClure.
The company had 3 substations; Sugar Hill, Main Street & Mill Street and the County building on Main Street. The majority of men came from the Hope Fire Company.
The fire company along with the Township realized the need to have water close by to extinguish the fires and both agreed to start locating “fire plugs” in the town. This coincided with the dedication of the new Water Company building located on Farragut Avenue. Insurance rates on homes and businesses decreased with the fire plugs.
1913
September 11
Reliance Hose Company No. 1 was incorporated. At this time the fire company was still located in Library Hall.
1914
January 5
Company purchased hose cart and 250 feet of hose.
June 6
Company’s first motorized piece of equipment: 40 HP Garford Chemical Wagon, 35mph top speed. Hopefully this piece of equipment would provide fire protection for dwellings within a 5 mile radius of Mays Landing. Around this time an additional group was formed called the Everready Hook and Ladder Company.
1917
Lewis W. Cramer became Chief.
1918
Roy E. Beach became Chief.
1919
Walter A. Mahnke became Chief.
May 19
Company took delivery of a new Ford Chemical Wagon.
1923
April
Company took delivery of a new 1922 GMC Hale Pumper.
1924
George T. Yetter became Chief.
1927
Moved into firehouse on Cape May Avenue.
1931
John Newcomb rebuilt a 1927 Buick and equipped the piece with two 50 gallon chemical tanks.
1943
April 5
Carl Luderitz (16), Ralph Luderitz (17), Alfred Ingersoll (19) and Bill Hoover (27) lost their lives fighting an out of control forest fire in Mullica Township.
1947
Company took delivery of a Great Eastern Pumper.
1949
Diamond “T” was purchased.
1950
Charles Voigt Jr. – Killed by a fall while fighting a fire.
1964
James R. Hoover became Chief.
1966
Company purchased a 1966 Ford Pumper
1969
Paul Taylor became Chief.
1971
Mack C. Harris became Chief.
1973
John R. Houck became Chief.
1974
September
Moved into our current fire house. The bell displayed in our entrance way was part of the alarm system used by the Hope Fire Company in 1895.
September
GMC 1000 GPM Pumper (former 1816) was bought by the Fire Department.
1981
E-One Pumper (former 1812) and Mobile Cascade Unit (former 1817) were purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
1986
Michael Errickson became Chief.
E-One 110′ Aerial Ladder (1815) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
1990
E-One 1500 GPM Pumper (1813) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
1992
Ford F-450 Mobile Cascade Unit (1817) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
1993
James Morris Jr. became Chief.
1994
Michael Errickson became Chief.
1996
4-Guys 1500 GPM Tanker/Pumper (1819) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
2000
Eustace Eggie 3rd became Chief.
2004
Robert J. Valasek became Chief.
2006
Pierce Enforcer 1500 GPM Pumper (1812) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
2007
David Connelly became Chief.
July 7
Mays Landing Fire Department celebrates it’s 100th anniversary
Pierce Velocity 105' Ladder (1815) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
2011
John Sauerwald became Chief
2015
Robert Hamilton became Chief
2017
2017 Ford Utility Police Interceptor (1811) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton.
Lou DiMartine became Chief
Pierce Enforcer PUC Squad (1816) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton
2020
Ford F-150 Pickup (1810) was purchased by the Township of Hamilton
Mizpah section is added to Mays Landing Fire's primary response area
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